Defender
by ForThoseWhoLoveMe
Summary: Bruce Banner is intrigued by the people he meets when he is called to help save the world from Loki. He becomes interested in one person in particular but she may not be exactly what she seems. With a dark past of her own, Alexis struggles to accept new people into her life. All the team are included. Bruce/OC. Natasha/Clint. AU. WIP. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Avengers fanfic so I'll start off by saying that I don't own anything. Now, I'd really appreciate any reviews or any comments you have at all, seriously, let me know what you think because the storyline I have in mind is still adaptable. This is based around the movie-verse but AU so no promises as to storyline. I went with the title because my OC's name means 'helper' or 'defender'. Though the genre is Drama/Romance there will be a fair bit of angst in here as well including some disturbing themes which I will warn you of at the start of relevant chapters. Rated M for reasons.  
**

* * *

Natasha Romanov was not impressed. She had been sent to collect two people for the 'Avengers Initiative' and was genuinely afraid of one of those people. Fear didn't often happen to Black Widow, so when it did she was really uncomfortable. First, she was picking up Doctor Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. He was currently in Calcutta and though he wasn't a big fan of SHIELD, she was sure he would talk to her and could be persuaded to come along.

It was the second person that made her stomach twist with worry. As much as the Hulk could hurt her physically, Alexis could hurt her much worse. The woman had a telepathic power, not only would Natasha's thoughts not be safe around her but she could also meddle with the assassin's mind, change the way she thought. It was a particularly touchy area since Clint had been compromised. Natasha wasn't even sure why this Alexis woman wasn't under lock and key, the only part of her file Natasha could see was the section relating to her abilities which culminated in a few words.

'Ability level: 5  
Danger level: 5'

Surely the country she lived in couldn't be safe when someone so dangerous walked free. Maybe she could convince Dr Banner to talk to the woman so that she didn't have to.

* * *

Bruce Banner was, somewhat reluctantly, sitting in a jet on his way back to America apparently via Scotland. Usually he would spend such a journey in a confined and breakable container meditating, doing his utmost to ensure the Other Guy didn't make an appearance. On this occasion that wasn't necessary since he was given plenty to think about. The files on the Tesseract were interesting, particularly Selvig's observations but he would find out more when he got to SHIELD's base. What was really interesting were the files on the Avengers with whom he'd be working until he found the cube (at which time he'd be free to leave, Agent Romanov had assured him). He already knew about Captain America and Iron Man of course, they were both pretty big public figures even if one of them was frozen in ice for decades.

The files on Romanov, Loki and Alexis were what he was interested in. There was another agent's file included but stamped across it in red letters was the word 'COMPROMISED' so he didn't bother reading much into that one.  
Agent Romanov was the one who had picked him up. Of course, he wasn't given access to all of her information but he did find out that she was an assassin with a very specific skill set. With her track record, he was pretty glad that he was working with her rather than against her even though he knew that the other guy would make an appearance before he could be hurt. Bruce knew she was nervous around him but she wasn't outright frightened which was better than usual reactions to him.

Loki was the villain in this situation (though Bruce was _definitely_ not going to be directly involved in this situation) and he was an immortal god from the realm eternal; Asgard. He was the god of lies and mischief and had stolen the Tesseract – an object of unlimited power – and was planning to use it against the planet. This was the type of situation Bruce actively tried to avoid. He didn't cope well with stress.

The last file of interest was of someone called Alexis. Her first name was the only personal information in the file; they didn't even have an age. This was the person they were collecting from Scotland, the person who, when Agent Romanov – master assassin who wasn't even afraid of the Other Guy – spoke of her, her voice wavered and her shoulders tensed. After reading this woman's file he could understand why. Telepathy (including mind control), telekinesis and a skill which was given the title 'particle control'. Telepathy or telekinesis by themselves were not that unusual, he'd been around enough to have seen it before, but both together in one person, with a skill level 5 was a potent mix. He didn't even know what 'particle control' was but the ideas the name evoked encouraged him to be scared of it. He was also impressed that she had a higher danger rating than him, he was only a 4.8. Bruce wished there was more information before he met this woman.

* * *

The jet landed in a small aerodrome on the outskirts of a small town. Really, after all the places they'd seen, everywhere in Scotland could be classified 'small' to people who'd travelled as much as Natasha and Bruce. A sleek black car was waiting and they were taken to a large house surrounded by fields. Natasha felt her heart rate speed up a little and made an effort to focus on her breathing, reminding herself that she didn't know this woman, that there might not be any problems, that the Director trusted her.

Bruce picked up on Natasha's tension and was impressed that no emotion could be seen on the assassin's face. So far he wasn't too worried, though his heart rate was a little faster than normal in response to Natasha's fear. Really he was just curious, he was a scientist after all. _'There's a high chance that curiosity is going to be the death of me' _he thought to himself with dark humour.

Natasha double checked he was okay before they got out of the car. It was dark outside by now and all the windows in the house were bright and Bruce smiled as he recognised a Brian Adams song drifting from an open upstairs window. He wasn't exactly expecting this and from the look he shared with Natasha, she was unsure what to think as well. They rang the doorbell.

The music upstairs was cut off and the sound of the latch being turned before the door opened to reveal a girl. She had bright red dyed hair which was tied up in a knot witch appeared to be held up by a pen that was stuck through it. She was wearing an oversized sweater, pyjama shorts and slippers and her blue eyes were bright behind her glasses as she smiled at the strangers on her doorstep.

"Alexis?" Natasha asked, her voice clipped, not displaying her confusion with the person in front of her.

"That's me," the girl replied brightly before glancing behind them, at which point the smile dropped off her face. "You better come in. No good news comes in black cars." She stepped back to allow them entry.

"Are you going somewhere?" Bruce asked in his soft voice as he was shown into a living room which was bare except for the couches and cardboard boxes littering the floor.

"Hmm, no." She replied looking at him with a considering expression on her face. "This house was my parents and is being packed up to sell. I live up north now. Tell me, how can I help you?"

Natasha stepped in. "I am Agent Romanov from SHIELD. Director Fury asks for your assistance." She was confused about this girl – that's what she was, she couldn't be older than 20. Of course she could be manipulating them to make sure she was seen that way. Natasha didn't know what to think and she didn't like that feeling so she simply followed her orders and kept her face and voice neutral.

Alexis seemed to tell the Agent did not like her at all – her face took on a sad and resigned look that Bruce recognised from his own reflection in the mirror. He was used to people not liking him because of something beyond his control. Of course people were right to keep their distance in his case, was it the same for her? After a thoughtful moment she sighed, "I did promise to come when he called," she paused again. "Well my things are already in a bag so if you could give me a couple of minutes, I'll make sure I've got everything. Feel free to help yourself from the kitchen if you're hungry."

When Bruce heard her footsteps on the stairs he turned to Natasha. "What's her existing connection to SHIELD?" He became easily enthralled with puzzles.

"I know what you do, Doctor," she said in a vaguely annoyed tone. "The personal section of her file isn't just confidential, it simply isn't there. It's either been very thoroughly deleted by someone with high clearance or was never put on the system in the first place. That will change if she decides to help though."

Bruce nodded, lost in thought. He was interested to know what she owed Nick Fury and how she manipulated thoughts and her opinions on her skill and danger levels and all manner of other things. He was, however, aware that if he asked questions it gave her the right to ask in return and he wasn't very happy answering questions. Not that she couldn't just pick it out of his mind if she wanted to. Being around a mind reader was going to be frustrating and confusing.

His train of thought was interrupted as Alexis returned to the room looking much more put together. The pyjamas were gone, replaced by a navy blouse and cream jeans tucked into grey, laced boots. Her hair was still held up by a pen and she had a sports bag over one shoulder and a laptop bag over the other.

"So, I know Agent Romanov but can I ask your name?" she directed at Bruce.

"Doctor Bruce Banner." He introduced himself.

Bruce didn't imagine the sparkle of interest in her eyes when he told her his name but all she said was "It's nice to meet you both." He wondered how much she knew of him. She didn't seem scared but she would have been if she knew about the Other Guy, wouldn't she? Bruce Banner was intrigued. This couldn't end well.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bit of a shorter chapter this time i'm afraid. I'm really thrilled with the response that I received for the first chapter, I will not deny that I squealed out loud in on of my labs when I checked my emails and got my first review, favourite and follow. So chuffed! I'll do my best to respond to reviews and as always, i'm really happy to hear any thoughts at all about the story.  
****I did make a mistake in the first authors notes by saying that this story was rated M. It is currently rated T but ratings may go up.  
****Again, I don't own any of the Avengers, I'm simply manipulating them for my own amusement and, of course the amusement of however reads my story! I hope you like chapter 2.**

* * *

"I_ probably should have done this long before now,"_ alexis thought with a sigh. She was packing up her parents house so that it could be put up for sale but, as the house had been mostly empty for more than 5 years there was a fair bit of cleaning to be done along with the organising. There was a pleasant sort of nostalgia in being back at her family home again, going through all the crap lying around was like drowning in memories of - cliche ahead - simpler times.

No one had stayed in the house for more than a few days at a time since she and her family had been taken when she was 15. Bizarre situation all round really. She'd spent a year with her 'rescuers' (read: new, more polite jailers) at SHIELD headquarters following the incident and then she moved into university accommodation. Alexis had always thought about selling her family home once she had a flat but she'd always shied away from the act of packing up. Now that she was doing it she felt content in a strange way.

_'Enough reminiscing,_' she instructed herself, pulling on one of her dad's old sweatshirts that she unearthed in a drawer. It might just be in her head but it still smelled a little like him. She plugged in her iPod and decided that Brian Adams on repeat would definitely help this task go faster.  
It might have gone a lot faster if she had taken her own advice to stop remembering happier times. When she packed up the dining room she smiled as she packed up all the framed photos, she gave a fond little sigh as she remebered out how to open the secret drawer where her mum's good jewellery was hidden and then she turned to the piano and decided to give it one last play before it went into storage. Stupidly she played her Mum's favourite piece - the one she would beg Alexis to play every time the girl sat on the piano bench. She would deny any claims that for the few minutes that she played she allowed tears to trail down her cheeks for the first time in a very long time.

A similar thing happened in her old bedroom, where she sat while grabbing a bite to eat at dinner time. She gazed fondly at the roof which her dad had painted to look like the sky - pale blue complete with clouds, sun, moon and stars; laughed at the memories of her and her dad attempting to make bookcases which no longer hosted her generous library, but felt tears trailing down her cheeks when she found the song lyrics -written out by herself in calligraphy- to the lullaby her dad used to sing to her when she couldn't sleep.

She was usually angry with herself when she cried. She hadn't done it really since just after the incident but this time it felt different. Alexis felt content. The incident had left her broken in more ways than one but she'd done her very best to fix herself and now she could tell that it was paying off even if it was only in this one area of her life.

By the time night had fallen, she was once again dancing to Brian Adams. She had finished all that she had to do, the estate agent had already been paid to put every thing in storage, Alexis had just done some of the packing to make sure trash was chucked and everything she wanted to keep she had. Now that she was done she was just enjoying the feel of her old home for the last time. Then the doorbell went.  
She quickly cut off the music and headed downstairs, hoping against hope that it wasn't one of her old neighbours. Pulling open the door, Alexis's first thought was '_I'm in luck, maybe the universe doesn't hate me._' the thought brought a smile to he face. The lady and gentlemen at the door were a strange pair, from their body language they were near strangers too each other and weren't comfortable to be there. The woman - very pretty; natural red hair, average height, slim but strong looking - kept her face blank though some confusion appeared in her eyes as she said in a professional voice, "Alexis?"

"That's me," the girl in question replied happily. Happily that was, until she caught sight of a non-descript black car behind the pair and she thought "_of course the universe still hates me_" and grumbled outloud about black cars and standing aside to let the people who I now knew to be agents into the house.

The man was attractive as well, Alexis noted Idley as she answered his question about moving. He was taller than her 5'9" by a good few inches - always a good thing; he had expressive brown eyes - probably not SHIELD then; his shoulders were quite broad but not too obviously and his hair was adore ably curly brown. Thinking something along the lines of '_might as well get it over with_' she asked, "how can I help you?"  
The agent spoke up, introducing herself as Natasha Romanov and said something Alexis hoped she'd never have to hear "Director Fury asks for your assistance."

The look in the agents face, the tone of her voice gave her away. She knew about the other outcome of 7 years ago and she was confused and scared and hated Alexis no small amount. That was just great. Alexis would have to go with them, she'd made a promise after all. She sighed and resigned herself to a period of time where everyone with access to her file would hate her, think her inside their heads or moments from tearing them apart. It would be fine. It wouldn't be anything new anyway.

She mumbled her affirmative to going with them and went upstairs to grab her bag and change clothes. Stopping to take one last look around her old room before flicking off the light and heading downstairs to jump back into a world she wanted nothing to do with. '_Mind you, if that attractive bloke is there it might be alright'._ Whatever part of her brain in which that thought originated was clearly a traitor. It did however, bring up the good point that she still hadn't been introduced to the gentleman.

"Doctor Bruce Banner" he introduced himself in a soft, polite tone.

Her mind blanked for a moment before she remembered her manners. She'd read all of his papers of course, one of her degrees was in physics after all. She was in the presence of an honest-to-god genius. A super attractive, intelligent man. Oh she hoped he wouldn't hate her when he knew what she could do. Alexis realised that her attraction to the good Doctor had significantly increased now that she know how smart he was. She sighed. This couldn't end well.

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**AN: Remember to let me know what you think and thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Thanks for everyone who has commented, favoured and followed, I'm so happy that people are reading this. One issue about reviews is that if you'd like me to reply, you need to have private messaging enabled. I appreciate them whether I can reply or not =). I really hope you enjoy.  
Also, this chapter is quite short but they will start getting longer now that we're on the helicarrier. This chapter is just a bit more character development, don't worry, the fun is just around the corner.**

* * *

Alexis was pleased to see that the jet was more 'fashionably first-class' than the military jets she knew SHIELD owned in abundance. This one had cream upholstered leather seats, computers and an assortment of other things most people would deem unnecessary for a jet to have.  
As they took off Bruce sat down opposite her (Natasha being co-pilot up front) and handed her some files. "This is all the relevant info of the team and the target."

"Thanks," Alexis replied, continuing before she could stop herself, "Have you been working with SHIELD long?"

He looked confused, "No, why do you ask?"

Alexis hummed in a non-committal way, "you're already talking like an agent. This guy," she checked the file, "Loki, might be an enemy in this situation but he's still a person, not just something to aim our best weapons at." _Though that's exactly what we're doing_, she added mentally.

She could almost feel Bruce staring at her as she looked at the files resting on her legs. The intensity of his stare was amusing particularly because in the last half hour - the entire time they'd spent together - he hadn't looked directly at her once - always looking down at the ground or just past her shoulder. She might have taken offence too, if he hadn't been doing the same thing to Natasha. Why did he do that?

She flicked through the files, separating them into two piles. In one pile were the team files and in the other was her own file, Loki's, Agent Barton's and the Tesseract files. The first thing she did was read her own files. Maybe it was immature but she totally wanted to know what all the people she would be working with knew on her. She was surprised that all they had was her abilities. Agent Coulson _had_ promised her all those years ago that her private info was going to be sponged but, well, it wasn't exactly unusual for SHIELD to lie when they wanted something. She read the section on her abilities and exclaimed, "That's not even right!" She saw Bruce startle slightly out of the corner of her eye.  
"What isn't right?" he asked in a vaguely amused tone.

"Here," she flicked her file across at him and watched as he put on a pair of glasses. "My abilities. I don't know how they calculate the 'danger rating' and stuff though that seems like a load of rubbish too, but they've doubled up my skills."

"What?" He looks adorably baffled (no, just plain baffled, she shouldn't be referring to him as adorable), "They got it wrong?"

"No. They're just categorising things wrong. They write the phrase 'including mind control' as if that didn't come part of the parcel of telepathy. Every single one of the people they hire with that skill can influence thoughts to some degree, I'm just stronger, so they feel the need to add that extra tidbit to my file instead of writing 'can't influence thoughts well' on some other losers file. And particle control! Do you know what that is? Telekinesis. I'm good at telekinesis so they feel the need to add some... Sorry. I'm ranting aren't I? I'll shut up now. " She had turned beet red. she knew and really, SHIELDs sloppy information gathering wasn't relevant to any of her current problems. SHIELD poking into her life made her angry and their failure to even do _that_ right was a convenient excuse to get riled. She knew she shouldn't have taken it out on Dr Banner though.

Glancing up, she saw that the doctor in question was looking at her with a knowing smile. Huh, maybe she hadn't made a total fool of herself then. With that happy thought, she plugged in her earphones and prepared to learn about thermo-nuclear-astrophysics, the god, Loki and how an agent had been compromised.

Bruce had listened to her rant with amusement. He definitely knew that she was annoyed at the whole 'SHIELD coming in and sweeping her away from her life' thing and he understood the need to rant - really, he could write the book on anger and frustration. The girl was an enigma though. She was mature enough to pack up a house ready to sell but immature enough to grab a file with her name on it with glee. Definitely interesting.

When she rejected his use of the word 'target', he realised something. No matter what Natasha thought of her or how apparently dangerous she was, this woman was _good_. Maybe naive, but valuing human life was definitely a point in her favour. He had also noticed that she seemed to have put all the team's files away and was thoroughly ignoring them, was that because she would just pluck the information out of their minds when she met them? Though, if she had already discovered the Other Guy's existence from his head she wouldn't be sitting so close to him so calmly. Interesting. Oh, he knew he shouldn't turn Alexis into a puzzle for himself to solve - he couldn't allow her close enough to solve it - but he was intrigued despite himself.

When Alexis finished reading all the files she had separated and taken off her headphones Bruce informed her that they were 20 minutes away from base. "Wow," she replies, "I've got to get me a jet. This is way more efficient than British Airways. ".

Bruce watches her stand up and make her way over to the fridge and get a bottle of water before asking "you haven't read all the files yet." Not that he wanted her to be scared of him, but it would be much easier to ignore his interest in her if she looked at him in disgust or fear rather than the vaguely amused way she was looking at him now.

"That's right."

Was she being purposely frustrating? "Can I ask why?"

She sighed, "you may have noticed from my earlier rant that I'm not SHIELDs biggest fan especially the way they treat people - as weapons or liabilities. If there's anything I need to know people can tell me themselves, I don't need to have the all knowing god complex that SHIELD relies upon so often."

Bruce swore he heard Natasha snort from the front of the jet and nodded slowly as he tried to process that. _Fuck_. That meant that if he wanted her to know about the other guy then he would have to be the one to tell her. He wasn't too impressed that that decision was being put in his hands. _Well, that's going to be an awkward conversation._

* * *

They landed on an aircraft carrier and Alexis let Bruce and Natasha precede her off the jet before she tightened her grip on her laptop and bag, took a deep breath and stepped back into the world of SHIELD.

* * *

**AN: thank you for reading! If there's anything you'd like to see happen in this story give me a shout and I'll see what I can do, I have a general plot in my head but details are changeable.**


	4. Chapter 4

**It's always fantastic to see loads of people reading this fic, it makes me feel really proud.  
Just a heads up that the rating is going to go up to M now for darker themes. Nothing is really explicit I just don't want anyone to be taken by surprise.  
As always I don't own Avengers or anything else I may use in this story.  
Thank you for reading and please review!**

* * *

Alexis stepped off the jet and looked up to see the face of Agent Phil Coulson, the first person she'd met at SHIELD all those years ago. Without much warning, a years worth of repressed memories assaulted her.

_Alexis hadn't know that her dad was anything more than the policeman that he said he was. Neither did her mother. Neither of them had known his role in finding and stopping terrorist attacks. But that's exactly what he did and one terrorist group had worked out who he was. _  
_She was in a cave (some part of her mostly-numb mind registered the cliche), her mum and brother were dead and her father was tied up next to her being tortured for information on other groups as well as information on the British government. He wasn't talking for which she was glad, '_they made a mistake killing mum and Daniel first_,' she thinks, _'he's already broken.'_  
_  
_As much as her dad loved her - which she knew he did, humans have an unlimited capacity to love after all - she had seen the look in his eyes when she woke up, tied to a chair in this strange place. Watching the love of his life - his childhood sweetheart - and his firstborn son murdered in cold blood right in front of him had been too much. Humans might have an unlimited capacity for love (and, she was beginning to realise, for cruelty) but they did not have an unlimited capacity for pain and her dad had well surpassed his limit. Even though she was still alive he wouldn't be able to go on, essentially, he had nothing left to live for. So why would he answer their questions?  
_  
_Her head was throbbing, ropes cut into her hand, her right leg was worryingly numb and the material of her jeans was dark with blood. Alexis screamed as she watched them torture her father, whipping him, but she knows there is nothing she can do even as she tries so hard to break free of the ropes, there are still seven men she can see standing in the room with machine guns, what could she do against them? She has never felt so helpless, so lost. Maybe they get fed up of her shouting because all she feels is pain and then darkness fills her vision again.  
_  
_She wakes up just in time to see her father die. At some point during her unconsciousness they had moved from whipping him to cutting him with beastly, serrated knives. There was so much blood pooling around him. She watched as he gathered enough energy to lift his head and look into her eyes one last time. She watched the light leave his eyes, the life drain out of him. Her father went limp and his pain was over. Hers, apparently, was just beginning.  
_  
_She was beaten and cut, violated in every way possible for days on end. She was brought food that made her ill and assigned people to make sure she couldn't sleep. They weren't asking any questions, it was just wanton cruelty, punishment for her father dying before he answered their questions. Alexis had decided to survive this ordeal when she had seen that her father had given up - one of them should make it out of there - but her resolution was failing. She was failing, moving closer to the brink every hour.  
_  
_It was when she was in her third whipping session that it happened. One of her captors made an obscene comment to her in broken English. "_At least someone in your family gives good sport._" Abruptly her anger surpassed her sadness for the first time in this whole ordeal. Sport? This was just a game to them. Her family were toys, there lives were a vague amusement. '_No_'. That was the only thought in her head. '_No more_'. They did not deserve the life they had callously ripped from her family. If there was any justice in the world she would be able to dance in their ashes.  
_  
_As the first rush of her blind rage passed, Alexis realised that something had changed. Not something, _everything_. She could sense the particles, the atoms that made up the cave surrounding her, the ropes binding her and the men who had hurt her beyond comprehension. It was more than sensing them, she could feel them, control the atoms. As she felt the whip being brought down on her back again she wreaked her revenge.  
_  
_The particles divided at her command, first the people in the torture chamber were disintegrated, then the ropes binding her. Then Alexis felt further and discovered she could recognise people by their feel. Everyone she recognised she destroyed. And then she laughed. Then for a long time darkness was all she knew._

* * *

_Waking up in a medical area wasn't as pleasant as it could have been. Firstly because it meant that the whole thing wasn't a dream and secondly, when she tried to role over she discovered she was handcuffed to the bed. As much as they were healing her rather than hurting her, these people - whoever they were - were not her rescuers. They were her new jailers. _

* * *

_The first person who spoke to Alexis in her new prison was Agent Coulson who was, to all appearances a mild mannered American businessman. She hated him. It wasn't really him she hated, just everything he stood for. Apparently they'd sent a team to pull her out of that god-forsaken-cave when they'd noticed a huge energy fluctuation in the area. They'd been monitoring the group but hadn't attempted to help her father or herself in the hopes they would be able to find out more about the organisation. The Agent was full of questions about how all the men in the terrorist group had simply vanished while the women and children were fine. Of course, this information wasn't demanded immediately and, as she was in medical for the first month of her stay with SHIELD, they didn't push her. Much.  
_  
_When she thought back on the 'incident' (as she would forever refer to it in her mind) it was very hazy. Apparently that was to be expected. It took her a while but she eventually remembered those last moments of consciousness - breaking every person in that base that she recognised, that had been in the room with her. That explained why the women and children were fine anyway. That unfortunately brought around more tests and questions and further discovery into her newfound skills that scared Alexis at least as much as it scared SHIELD. Telepathy and telekinesis had ensured that SHIELD got her out of there, but they were dangerous skills to have. As soon as she realised what she could do Alexis spent every waking moment learning to control it._

* * *

_Agent Coulson was visiting her again. She was in a room instead of a medical area. She could almost move without pain. Alexis had changed her mind about the Agent - she still didn't like the organisation, but it was increasingly difficult to dislike the polite man who was patient with her blackouts (she seemed to become trapped in her mind for ages at a time, lost in thoughts and memories of the incident) and didn't push her nearly as much as the Director did.  
_  
_"How are you today Alexis?" He would ask politely every time he came. They were now into the third month of her stay with SHIELD and she was considering answering honestly.  
_  
_"I'm fine thank you, Agent. How are you?" He generally just looked at her in his mild manner, not giving her lie any response at all.  
_  
_"Dr Scott" - SHIELD psychiatrist - "has told me that you still aren't talking to her."  
_  
_"No, but on the bright side, there's a fascinating textbook on social anthropology in her office and that couch is pretty comfy." Alexis replied flippantly. The agent just sighed. It was getting harder to disappoint him every time he came in.  
_  
_"Look, Phil," the agent looked surprised and hopeful at her use of his first name - it was her turn to sigh, "I don't want to talk about it and I know that sounds childish and unhealthy but the fact is I am only 16, I am a child and three months ago I was in a cave being hurt so I'm not healthy either. I won't talk to a Doctor to hear her hum and haw in understanding because the chances are I'll punch her or worse." They both knew what worse would mean for the doctor in light of Alexis's newly discovered skills.  
_  
_"I tell you what," she said when Phil still looked disappointed. "For today only, I will answer every single question you ask me honestly if at the end of your visit, you answer one question of mine."  
_  
_It was a deal. And Phil had a lot of questions, some repeated from previous visits that she'd refused to answer. It was difficult for her but no matter how unhealthy her shrink thought her to be, she was dealing with the loss of her family and the incident and every day it was easier to think without it hurting so much._

_Eventually he was satisfied, she had stayed calm throughout and hadn't had a blackout. "Thank you, " Phil said with feeling, "I'm honoured that you trust me enough to talk to me above everyone else."  
_  
_"Don't make it about trust," she replied. "If it was a matter of trust I would have answered Dr Scott's questions and relied on patient confidentiality. You are just a ridiculously hard person to hate Phil, I like you, so I answered the questions that would make your job easier."_  
_Phil smiled at that and made to get out of the chair he had settled in a couple of hours ago. "Hold up there!" Alexis said quickly. "We had a deal."_

_"So we did," he said settling back down, "ask away."_

_Alexis thought for a moment. She knew what she wanted to ask but she didn't think he would answer her. "Why am I still your prisoner?" She asked. She was in a room that was locked at all times. Despite the fact that they could now recognise when she used her power (apparently her pupils and the whites of her eyes disappear to be overtaken by the blue of her iris - she wished she could see that, it sounded cool in a freaky way) and despite the fact they knew why she lost control in the cave and how unlikely it was to be repeated, she still couldn't go home. She was still on the wrong continent.  
_  
_Phil considered her quietly for a little while before saying in his mild voice. "I am under the impression that it is because you refuse to work with SHIELD, and you're too powerful to be allowed to work for someone else."  
_  
_With that Phil stood and left the room and Alexis was left alone with her thoughts. _

* * *

Her blackouts were few and far between nowadays and this one had only lasted a couple of seconds - her mind was now her strongest weapon and it wouldn't do to get lost in it too often - but Phil had noticed anyway. Of course he had, he was trained to notice. He looked concerned but his frown faded as Alexis reached up to give him a hug. "It's been too long."

He returned the hug, replying, "it's good to see you Alex," he was the only person she'd ever let get away with a nickname. "I wish you hadn't been pulled back in, though."

"Me too Phil. Me too."

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**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review if you've got the time!  
Thank you to my Beta reader who sacrificed an electrical engineering lecture to ensure this story made sense.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for coming to read this fic, sorry this chapter took a bit longer than the others to get out. As always I don't own anything. I'm really excited for the next chapter when things will start to pick up.**

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Alexis was pulled across the deck of the aircraft carrier by Phil who, it seemed, was determined she meet someone. _'Ah_' she thought when she say where they were headed. _'That makes sense'_. Standing talking to Dr. Banner was a tall, broad blond man wearing a fairly old fashioned outfit - this must be Phil's hero, Captain America.

The super-soldier looked at her carefully as Phil introduced her, "it's nice to meet you miss. There wasn't very much information in your file..." He trailed off, giving her a gentlemanly handshake but still looking at her warily with a confused quirk to his head.

"A fact that is about to be remedied," Phil said meaningfully, looking at Alexis.

She sighed and fished around in her pockets, pulling out a USB stick and tossing it to Phil. "No medical okay? Nobody is getting near me with a needle."

Phil just smirked. "We'll see."

"I'm afraid I don't know much about you, sir." Alexis said to the Captain. "No matter how full of 'information' your file is, it doesn't help since I haven't read it. And, since I'm not American, I wasn't even raised on the stories like so many people here." She knew SHIELD were an intelligence organisation but their compulsive need to know everything about everyone who worked for them really got on her nerves. Information that personal should only be shared on a person to person basis.

Mr Rogers/Captain America was looking at her strangely again and opened his mouth to say something but Agent Romanov took that moment to inform Steve and Bruce that they should head inside. She seemed to be working under the assumption that ignoring Alexis was a good way to deal with her until she gained any more information on the girl. Alexis didn't like being ignored but she just sighed and headed off of the landing area. She wasn't going to confront the women - most people feared or disliked her when they found out what she could do. That was their right. It just made Alexis feel even more alone.

The first person Alexis saw in the command station was Director Fury. Of course he was pretty noticeable dressed head to toe in black leather complete with eyepatch, usually barking out orders at the top of his lungs. Though he was head of a spy agency, Alexis was pretty sure he didn't have an 'inside voice.'

He spotted Alexis within a couple of seconds and pointed a warning finger at her. "Don't you go wandering off just yet. You and I are going to have words." _Joy of joys. _  
"Hey Nick!" She muttered under her breath. "Nice to see you again too. How have you been? That a new trench coat? Eyepatch? Something's changed..." She kept up the litany of comments under her breath until she heard a choked laugh behind her and turned to see Bruce Banner holding back laughter as he turned away from her to greet the Director himself. When Natasha took him to the lab so that he could get started on a tracking algorithm to locate the Tesseract Alexis was left to the tender mercies of the Director and Phil, who was firmly in agent mode at the moment.

* * *

Phil sighed as he and Director Fury led Alexis to Fury's office. She was to be questioned again. The poor girl has had enough interrogations to last a lifetime and he was sad that he was a big part of that. He had been pleased when she'd stepped off the jet and back into SHIELD - she looked well even if she had a minor blackout when she saw him. She had been sent back to Scotland just before she turned seventeen to an empty home, no qualifications, she even had to arrange to get the money she was due from the estates of her entire family. He had been worried about what she'd be like as soon he found out she was coming back but she was essentially no different. She had clearly coped well with her situation and she was managing to feed herself - according to Natasha she had given Dr Banner a lecture on calling people 'targets' and he himself had heard her talk to Captain America about privacy - she had definitely not lost her spirit.

"We've updated your file with all the information we received last time you were here but there are a few gaps we need to fill in." Fury began. "First of all, will you confirm your full name and your date of birth."

Phil watched Alexis smile at that question. It had amused her no end that the organisation didn't know something so simple about her. "My name is Alexis Jane Reid and I was born on December 1st 1990"

Fury relaxed a little, Phil knew that the director had been worried that she wouldn't cooperate. Alexis noticed this too and said, "I did promise, Director. And I'm twenty-two now, not sixteen - I'm used to organisations needing an incredible amount of detail about my life before they'll do anything for me. Even ordering takeout seems to need information on the last three generations of my family and if I have a heart condition. " She rolled her eyes.

Fury just looked at her for a moment before continuing as if she hadn't spoken. "Will you please fill in the last five years for us?"

"I managed to get everything I was due from various solicitors but it took a while. I applied to university and had to sit entrance exams since I didn't graduate high school." She inserted a pointed look at the agents. "I passed with flying colours and chose Aberdeen university studying mechanical engineering. After the first semester I decided that I needed more to do so I also entered a distance learning course in physics and human biology. I lived and worked in Aberdeen during this time. Last December I graduated with a masters degree in mechanical engineering and a joint honours in physics and human bio. I thought about doing a doctorate but another opportunity came up. I now live in a cottage on a farm down the coast from Aberdeen and own a specialised garage. "

Phil recognised the monotone she used to tell her story from back at the very beginning of her stay at SHIELD. He voiced his concerns before Fury could say anything. "Have you spoken to anyone since you left here?"

She turned to him and rolled her eyes. "Of course I have Agent." Phil winced at the use of his title, "I ended up being at Uni a year younger than I would have been. That coupled with the 'incident' has insured that I'm now less a social butterfly, more a determined introvert."  
"So you've just not spoken to anyone about anything remotely personal since you left." Phil pressed despite her obvious aggravation at his questioning.

"Not everyone is as nosy as SHIELD." She said. She wouldn't look at him now. Maybe he should have waited to ask these questions when they were alone. Maybe he shouldn't have asked at all, it wasn't his business and he hadn't been there for her. He pushed these thoughts aside and was about to answer her.

The Director chose this moment to cut in. "Is there anything else you think we need to know?" He asked, clearly losing patience with the conversation.

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "You had a GPS tracker in my laptop and phone, you regularly spoke to my advisor of studies on the phone and you liaised with MI6 to ensure I wasn't in contact with any unsavoury organisations. I think if there was anything I missed out, you'd already know it."

Fury just looked at her again and finally said, "I understand how you would find out about the tracker and the phone calls but not about the Agents."

"That wasn't a question."

Fury sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb in an attempt to ward off a head ache. "How did you know about the agents." It was still spoken like a statement but at least it had the right words.

She replied quietly, her voice filled with so many different emotions that Phil couldn't identify them all, "My dad worked for MI6 and the people assigned to me worked with him or knew him. Apparently he was a difficult man not to like. MI6 are pretty good at intelligence as it turns out - they couldn't work out where dad was taken but soon after you pulled me out they knew the who's, where's and whys." A dangerous glint entered her eyes almost making Phil shiver. "They also know that you didn't pull us out as soon as we went in even though you knew where we were, they know that you took me further from my home instead of rehabilitating me after you finally pulled me out and they know how long you kept me here with SHIELD. Three agents were infiltrating the system specifically for me by the time I left. I think it's fair to say director, those Agents are far more my friends than yours." Phil made a mental note to start strengthening relations with the British government and intelligence agencies.

There was a knock on the door and the agent who stuck his head in reported a match on The facial recognition software for Loki in Germany. Phil used the comm to make sure Natasha and the Captain were heading for a jet and then directed Alexis to the lab where Dr Banner was working. Since she now somehow had two degrees she might even be able to help him. Now all he had to do was stop worrying about what he could have done differently five years ago long enough to ensure that the current mission was completed.

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**AN: Thanks again for reading =)**

**If you've got time, leave me a note to let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Sorry for the wait, University suddenly became hard - though i'm sure if i'd kept on top of my workload it wouldn't have seemed so sudden. I'm on my easter holidays at the end of this week so I hope I can update more regularly for a little while.**

I don't own the world or characters

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'_A flying aircraft carrier is possibly the worst idea ever_,' Bruce thought to himself as Agent Romanov showed him to a beautiful lab which - as she had said - contained all the toys he could ever want. '_Of course, with me inside it, it's now just an accident waiting to happen.'_

He felt bad for leaving Alexis to the mercy of Director Fury. He'd struggled to stop himself from laughing at her comments in the command centre but when he looked back as he was taken to the lab he saw a flash of vulnerability in the girl's eyes as Fury walked towards her.

He shook off his thoughts and got back to the matter in hand - creating a tracking algorithm for the tesseract. Sitting down at one of the workspaces he logged in to the top-of-the-range computer and pulled up all the relevant files to make sure he hadn't missed out any important information on the cube. As Bruce began re-reading a notice popped up to tell him one of his opened files had been updated - Alexis's file.

Sighing, he took off his glasses and pressed his thumb and forefinger to his eyes. Could he read it? Should he? She was a puzzle to him and he would be glad for some answers but the last thing he wanted to do was drive her away. No, maybe he did want to drive her away. She shouldn't be around him anyway, he was dangerous. Satisfied with his reasoning he put his glasses on and clicked on the file of Alexis Jane Reid.

* * *

_'Well, that file made for grim reading_,' Bruce thought. He regretted finding out the answer to some of her confusing behaviour - how she swapped so easily between mature and immature and what the reason for her high danger rating was. He selfishly wished he remained ignorant of what Alexis had gone through so she could remain a charming enigma rather than facing the harsh reality of the origin of her personality traits. Bruce resolved to try and act naturally around her, there was no need to dwell on the past when she probably wanted to do her job and leave again. He had a lot to think about once the tracking algorithm was complete.

He heard the door open and close quietly behind him and braced himself a little as he turned to face the intruder. He had tensed at the thought of someone checking up on him but he relaxed when he saw that it was Alexis. _Hold on. Since when was he comfortable enough around this girl to relax? Could she be using her powers against him?_ But when he looked at her, she didn't seem to be doing anything. She looked vulnerable again - clearly something the director brought out in her - and her hair was down, reaching her shoulders in soft waves. She cleared her throat and said, "they located Loki. He's attending a party in Germany from what I saw on the screens." She smiled, "I was sent down here, I'm not sure whether it was to help or hinder you though."

He couldn't help the smile that stretched his face at this news - once Loki was here they'd find the Tesseract and then he could go back to his self-imposed isolation - and the fact that he got to spend the next few hours with Alexis. Dangerous thoughts - he shouldn't care anymore, he had discovered the answer to her riddle, why did he still care? "That's good news about Loki. I'm afraid I have bad news about your purpose here though."

"And what's that?" She asked a little warily, looking unsure if she should expect to be thrown out or not.

"Fury asked me to do a medical on you." Well, the director had used more colourful language but she didn't need to know that.

"Uh uh." She said, immediately shaking her head and backing up a few steps. "No way."

Bruce was about to insist but then took a closer look at her. Her skin had blanched at the thought, her body tensed and her hands shaking slightly. He was pretty sure he'd hulked out with less stress symptoms than that. "Why?" The word came out baffled and he immediately regretted it as he watched her arms over her chest. "No it's okay, it's okay. We don't have to do anything. Don't worry." He approached her slowly, sill muttering reassurances and realising that this must be a trigger for her - the file didn't cover everything.

He gently put his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. After a moment he saw her relax and he backed away again, turning and heading over to the other side of the lab. Once she'd relaxed she looked so trusting, her blue eyes shining up at his. No one ever looked at him like that anymore and it shook him to the core. He had just wanted the excuse to read her file - he didn't want to drive her away at all.

Apparently his acting skills weren't up to snuff as a few moments later she said, "You read it didn't you?" She didn't sound angry or upset, just resigned. It was the same voice she used when she had registered Agent Romanov's distrust of her.

Bruce thought of denying it but he would feel bad lying to her and responded the affirmative adding, "are you sure you don't want to read the files of the rest of the team? It would give you something to do while you're waiting." It was an apology and an opportunity for her to find out as much about him as he knew of her.

"No, I won't," she said as she walked over to the window and sat down, facing away from him. "I pretend to be high and mighty about not prying into people's lives - and I still mostly stand by that - but the truth is all of the avengers are high profile in different worlds. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are genuinely high profile - everything I need to know from their fighting styles to what subjects to avoid when they're around are common knowledge. As for Agent Romanov, her codename is 'Black Widow' which really says it all doesn't it? I imagine she's trained in fighting styles that are beneficial whether or not she's in a position of power. I read Agent Barton/Hawkeye's file especially to see if I could work out how he'd been compromised by the power of the Tesseract. Details tend to be the things that people least want others to know so for the most part, it's up to others to tell me the details."

Bruce studied her as she talked. Now he knew the truth he could make out the pale tracks of well-healed scars on her hands and the side of her neck - all the skin he could see. "But what about me?" he asked. She was spot on about Agent Romanov. That was pretty scary actually, if she wasn't using her telepathy - which he really hoped she wasn't at this stage - she must be pretty smart to make those connections.

For some reason she blushed a little at his question. "Well, I might have had to read your file if I hadn't heard of you before doctor. Truth is, I've read all your papers on nuclear physics and - which are fantastic by the way -, I guess when the Harlem incident hit the news it wash difficult to put two and two together when I'd read such a lot about you."

'_What? That meant... She knew? She'd known about the other guy since she'd met him and was still sitting In front of him calm as can be. Maybe she was crazy. Seemed the only option at this point since she was still sitting there smiling sheepishly at him._ ' "Right," Bruce muttered distractedly, "right. Well I better get back to this algorithm in case Agent Romanov and the captain don't manage to find Loki."

"Of course," Alexis replied easily, "I'm going to sit by the window and listen to music for a little while."

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Alexis knew that Bruce needed some time to think and was glad he'd read her file. She felt bad knowing a big secret of his when he knew nothing of her. Well, if he had read her file he'd know everything, including a lot of the painful details but at least then he'd know why she freaked out at the thought of a physical examination. Her scars were a very small part of the problem, she had a very bad association with needles from the 'incident'.

He had been so kind when she'd had a freak out though. His words, his strong hands on her shoulders and the gentleness in his eyes was enough to calm her in moments. She hadn't had anyone to break her out of her panic attacks since she was last at a SHIELD base - they were few and far between these days but there had been a few times she'd locked herself in a bathroom stall and had to stop tears from falling when she had no one to call and no friends who cared enough to check on her. It felt nice to have someone. She barely knew him but he was kind to her.

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**AN: Thank you for reading! If you have time please leave a review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hey! Sorry this chapter took so long, it was giving me some trouble so I've split it in half and I should have the other part up soon. As always, i don't own anything etc.  
Thanks for reading.**

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There was no news about Loki until early the next morning. Bruce and Alexis had gone to bed the night before, Bruce to be plagued by his usual nightmares and Alexis to the unwelcome reminder that she couldn't control her telepathy when she was asleep. Alexis gave up on the idea of sleeping after she'd been pulled into someone else's nightmare for the third time and both she and Bruce were awake when they were summoned to the command centre at 4am. Agent Romanov and the Captain were back and had brought back with them Loki along with his brother, Thor.

The video screens were displaying a live feed from the glass cell where Loki was imprisoned. 'Why do people always think glass is a good idea?' Alexis thought. 'Even if it's strong enough for a god - which i don't imagine it is actually - giving a prisoner that good a view of their surroundings is never a good plan.' But there were currently more important things on which to concentrate as, on the screen, Fury was explaining how the cage could be dropped from the hellicarrier.

"It's an impressive cage," Loki said smoothly, "Not built I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury asserted.

"Ah yes." Loki replied looking directly at the camera. "The mindless beast who makes plays to the man."

At that Alexis stopped paying attention to the video feed - which had essentially turned into a pissing contest between the god and the director - and watched as Agent Romanov looked up at Bruce with an almost guilty expression on her face and Bruce in return gave a cold smile and shook his head a little. So SHIELD had arranged a cage for Bruce in case he got angry. How had they planned to get the Hulk into the cage? Were they just going to shove Bruce in there everytime his heart rate picked up or what? Alexis shook her head as the video went off and Bruce himself spoke, "He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Alexis was the only one who smiled.

"Loki's going to drag this out," Steve said, very much in soldier mode, "Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitari," Thor said in a surprisingly deep voice, "They are not of Asgard nor of any world known. He means to lead them against your people."

'Oh *goody*' Alexis thought sarcastically, 'as if the homicidal god wasn't enough'.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him," Steve continued a conversation Alexis hadn't been paying attention to. It was 4am for chirstsakes. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce cut in, "That guys brain is a bag full of cats, you can smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak," Thor was sounding angry now, "Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard and my brother."

"He killed 80 people in two days," Natasha said without looking up from the tablet infront of her which seemed to have someone's vital stats on it.

"He's adopted," Alexis was the only person in the command centre who laughed. Maybe everyone else had misplaced humour in light of the crisis. Maybe SHIELD agents just have their sense of humour drilled out of them.

"Iridium," Bruce said ignoring Thor, "What do they need the Iridium for?"

Tony Stark made his signature perfectly timed entrance to say, "It's a stabilising agent." before turning back to Phil who'd arrived at the same time to mutter something in his ear. "No hard feelings point break, you got a mean swing." Tony continued patting Thor on a bicep.

Poor Steve looked a little lost so Alexis leaned forward and said, "It just means that the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants."

"Exactly," Tony said gesturing his sunglasses at her. Alexis guessed that was meant to be some sort of commendation. He then walked up to Fury's computers and pointed out an agent who was playing a game rather than working. Perhaps not everyone had lost their sense of humour then. "The only other major component he needs is a power source of high energy density, something to kick start the cube."

Steve seemed to be getting pretty fed up of science talk and asked "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

"He'd have to heat the cube to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the cooling barrier." Bruce said as he paced, glasses in hand. Alexis couldn't help but notice how good he looked in his purple shirt. She shook her head quickly.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect." Tony continued.

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Alexis cut in. It seems she chose the right degree combinations to keep up on this subject.

"These guys right here," Tony pointed Alexis and Bruce out to the rest of the room. "They speak my language." Then, ignoring Natasha's rolled eyes and Steve's muttered incredulity he walked over to Bruce and shook his hand. "It's good to meet you Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled and i'm a big fan of the way you lose control and turn into a big green rage monster."

Bruce looked down and gave an approximation of a smile saying, "Thanks." Alexis just thought it was nice that there was someone on this ship that wasn't tiptoeing around him.

When Fury walked onto the command centre he instructed Tony to join Bruce in locating the cube to which he said, "Shall we play doctor?" and as they started walking to the exit he turned around and pointed at Alexis, "You too kid."

Alexis, thrilled to be escaping Fury's presence again had to stop herself from skipping towards the scientists but couldn't stop the snarky retort of, "You know, it took me twenty-two years to get to the age I am now."

Tony smirked at her as they continued down to the lab.

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**AN: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and if you've got the time leave a comment. Thanks!**


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